Affordances and use plans: An analysis of two alternatives to function-based design

Function-based design approaches have been criticised for being too narrow to properly guide design. Specifically, they are said to be unable to cope with non-functional considerations such as cost or maintenance issues without invoking other concepts, such as constraints. This paper investigates two alternative conceptualisations of the design process: the practical affordance-based design approach, as elaborated by Maier and Fadel, and the more theoretical use plan approach by Houkes and Vermaas. This paper compares function-, affordanceand use plan-based design approaches. It highlights strengths and weaknesses of each approach and proposes a definition of the function of an artefact in terms of its affordances.